The old song goes: "Tell me why the stars do shine. Tell me why the
ivy twines. Tell me why the skies are blue. And I will tell you why I love
you."

In response, an irreverent college student wrote:
"Nuclear fusion makes stars to shine. Tropisms cause the ivy to twine.
Rayleigh scattering makes skies so blue. And glandular hormones are why
I love you."

Science awareness of this sort (with or without
the levity) is necessary to understand the world and the amazing technological
revolutions that are changing our lives.

No person is fully educated without a grasp of
the fundamentals of science, which have profound philosophical implications.
Yet at no other time in this century has the level of science knowledge
among elementary and high school students been so dismally low.

Journalist James A. Haught, who created this
book in response to queries from his four children as they were growing
up, presents 100 basic science questions and provides simple answers with
clear illustrations.

Why is the sky blue? Why are there seasons? What
is the Milky Way? How fast does the Earth rotate? What holds an airplane
up in the sky? These and many more questions are addressed in a breezy style
that conveys broad, basic scientific ideas in the fastest, easiest form
possible.

James A. Haught is editor of The Charleston
Gazette in West Virginia. He has won investigative journalism awards
from the National Press Club, the American Bar Association, and People for
the American Way.